Comments on: A Reputation in Shreds

By: christi walker

christi walker — Sat, 05 May 2012 01:48:59 +0000

Ray N, hit the nail on the head with that last sentence. Even a queen is still ‘just a woman’. I don’t think she had as much power as people think she did, and I’m hoping she gets her good name back in time.

By: ray n

ray n — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 07:00:39 +0000

Marie-Antoinette was a victim of circumstances. Born of royalty, Austrian no less, she was forced into marriage for the benefit of international relations.

Among the French proletariat, it was extremely difficult to show compassion for her, in part because of her nationality. When household livre is scarce, bread even scarcer, unrest begins.

The resentment toward the rich and the ruling had already begun, deep inside the population, even before Marie-Antoinette crossed the border into France for the first time.

The events that followed worsen the image of the crown, and Marie-Antoinette was certainly made a scapegoat. The overwhelming and sometimes bizzare rumours were testament to such resentments.

Was the brutality of the revolution warranted? No, from a humanitarian point of view, and from that of Marie-Antoinette.

But from a broader sociological scope, it can be understood just how and why it happened.

Born of regal blood, and thrown into a frivolous world of French aristocratic debauchery, she was only living the life she was presented with. I felt that Coppola’s movie addressed that subject very clearly.

One thing that has been left unsaid – it was a tremendously difficult period for women to live in.

Cheers,
~r

By: amber

amber — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:01:30 +0000

You kno I would just like to say I was never into history even in school but I watch part of this movie in my french class n loved wht I seen me n my bf went to the movie store n I had to get the movie of her I do not believe that she was a messed up person she had a messed up life force to marry at a young age to someone tht she did not kno or at tht matter love force to leave everything she once had n tht she loved so much to pretty much b a peace offering she had no say so honestly how would u feel if u had to loose everything and with all the people who looked at her like a disappointment n did not want her there to havin all them people say all them nasty lies about her honestly to me I sprized she didn’t kill herself with all the crap she had to put up with I love hr n would loved to have been there with her cuz I would have standed by her side n let the people back then kno how I really feel they called her a whore way cuz the didn’t like her its sad I have read so many bad things about her her r more bad things about her then good she was n angel who did her best n her people killed her for no reason just a young girl forced to do somethin tht she mit not have wanted to just to keep the peace in the first place does tht part mean anythin to anyone she spent money to make her feel good cuz was somewhere she mit not have want to been did anyone ever think of tht how would u have dealed with this

By: Angel

Angel — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:53:39 +0000

To the Scaffold: The Life of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson I read this book because I love history and it is really nice to see that someone else has taken an interest in presenting what is so often lost to “the better story” and that is the historical facts. They’re not always a s colorful as we woudl like them to be but that is just the way it is. Thank you for this wonderful site

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:36:59 +0000

While the French revolutionaries may have used Antoinette as a scapegoat, they were not totally injust in their hatred for her or the extravagances of the monarchy at the time. The French monarchy by its very nature lived lavishly often without any regard to what the common people were going through and Marie Antoinette was no exception to the fact. How would you like it if the president of your country was ordering millions of dollars worth of gowns and jewels while you were starving? To say that Marie Antoinette and Louis Auguste did everything in their power to help the ailing French people is simply not true. There are numerous records to show that during the famine and particularly difficult years for the people, Antoinette ordered new Reisener furniture for the Petit Trianon which in today’s money could easily cost hundereds of thousands of dollars. In the end, Marie Antoinette lived like royalty and was very much out of touch with her people and their struggles and this is what they hated more than anything.

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:03:18 +0000

It sounds like Maria was the victim of 18th century attack ads. When will we learn better

By: je ne veut pas mettre mon nom dsl.

je ne veut pas mettre mon nom dsl. — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:26:54 +0000

je ne suis pas totalement en accord avec se que vous avez dit le film de copolla n’a pas terni l’image de marie antoinette Copolla la seulement enjoliver pour le cinema c’est sur elle ne passer pas son temp au triadon dans les bras d’un amant mais ce n’est qu’un film qui retrace en gros la vie de marie antoinette en “egsagerer” ( excuser moi pour l’ortographe je ne suis pas tres douer) donc en claire je ne suis pas d’accord avec votre article. et marie antoinette est la plus grande reine de france que je connais du au de mes 12 ans et j’en sais sur elle!!

By: Herstorianna

Herstorianna — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:19:20 +0000

Great article. I have yet to see the 2006 film as I rarely watch “historical” films due to their annoying habit of making me angry with their lack of actual historic facts.

I wanted to share with you a book that you may be interested in reading, it is called Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran, it is quite a good book about the famous wax-modeller who was at times quite close to the royal family. It is a work of fiction based on historic events and is sympathetic to the Royal family’s plight.

By: MOGURL

MOGURL — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:23:11 +0000

I just read a book on Marie Antoinette she was just a victim of the cort i think they should not have killed her she was just a person who was confused by there mean ways

By: Emma

Emma — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:20:22 +0000

I so enjoyed this well written and objective article. Having been to Versailles and completed detailed research on the Queen, my sympathy and admiration for her has increased and increased. For all those interested in Marie Antionette I would highly recommend the detailed, balanced, scrupulously researched, and un-put-down-able biography by acclaimed historian Antonia Fraser, entitled Marie Antoinette: the Journey. I devoured it, in tears at times, and the copious illustrations are amazing. It makes me so angry when I hear her dismissed as a frivolous, champagne swilling idiot – and she never, never said let them eat cake!!